Transcription
5.2 million. That's the much money my businesses made this year at 24 years old. And it wasn't through an agency or daddy's money or getting lucky with crypto meme coins. I just copied what massive companies like Uber, Amazon, Airbnb, Door Dash, and Fiverr have all done. And I made this money from connecting supply with demand. All I did was find one person who wanted something with someone who had it and got paid for bringing them together. Anyone can do this with the right tools. And in this video, I'm going to show you guys why being a middleman is the best way to make money and how to become one step by step.
So, why is being a middleman better? Businesses like trading, drop shipping, AI agencies, these all require money upfront, and they all require you to buy and sell something. If it's drop shipping, you might sell women's clothing. And if you day trade, you've got to buy and sell currency. None of that is needed when it comes to operating as a middleman. Being a middleman is super simple. You connect someone who needs something, a buyer, with someone who has it, a seller. You earn money just by making this connection without needing your own products or services. And there are billion-dollar companies who've built their entire business based on this idea. Uber connects drivers who own cars, passengers who need rides, and Uber makes money by taking a fee from each ride. Airbnb connects homeowners with guests who need a place to stay. And Airbnb earns by charging a fee every time someone books a stay. And these businesses became hugely successful without owning the actual things that they sell.
Now, there's many types of middleman that you can become, but for this video, we'll talk about the one that's making me over $5 million at 24. Influencer marketing is perfect for a middleman with a creator economy set to be worth 500 billion in just a few years. And that's because brands need new customers, but find traditional advertising expensive or less effective. And influencers have followers who trust their recommendations but often don't know how to find brand deals. Your role as a middleman is to firstly find brands looking to work with influencers. Secondly find influencers looking for brand deals. Then you want to introduce them and help agree on the terms and finally take a percentage as your fee for connecting them. This simple model is low risk, doesn't require investment and is as easy to scale as influencer marketing continues to grow. Of course, you need to know that just like Uber and Airbnb provide value to all their customers, you need to provide real value to brands, too. Otherwise, they're not going to sign with you.
So, now you know why being the middleman is the best business and how it works. Let me show you how I do it from scratch. If I had to start over today, the first step is choosing your niche. If you skip this part, you're going to end up blending in with every other wannabe middleman out there and make it impossible for you to stand out. But if you get this right, you'll position yourself as the go-to guy or girl in that specific space, and clients will come to you because you're exactly what they're looking for. Picking a niche isn't just about finding an industry that you think is interesting. You've got to pick a space where you can make the most impact and grow fast. Now, you might think, why limit myself to a single niche when I can take on any brand or any influencer? But here's the thing. Without a niche, you're going to become a jack of all trades, which is hard to sell to some serious brands looking for specific expertise. Because as you see later, when selling to brands, there's a few key things they look for, and one of them is a specialized service.
So, how do you find the right niche? Well, start by looking at your interest and industry knowledge that you have already. If you're into fitness, fashion, tech, or even niche hobbies like gaming, well, that's a great place to start. But it doesn't stop there. You also want to make sure that your chosen niche has active brands that invest into influencer marketing. Another approach is to look at underserved areas. This could be a huge advantage because you're stepping into a market where fewer middlemen are competing. Think about smaller industries that might be trending but haven't been fully tapped into. A niche like sustainable fashion or eco-friendly tech might be emerging and being one of the first players in that space could put you miles ahead. And there's even middlemen serving the AI niche. Now, I know a middleman and he serves AI brands and influencers and he makes around $60,000 a month in profit. So once you have a few ideas or niches, just test them out. Reach out to a few brands, look at the influencers in the space, and see if there's genuine interest and investment. By the way, choosing a niche doesn't mean you're locked into that forever. But it does give you a laser focused start that can help you get clients quicker.
So, you've picked your niche. Now, it's time to actually set up your middleman business. And don't worry, this doesn't mean building a big website or hiring a team. The beauty of the middleman model is that you can start lean. Your goal is simple. Position yourself as the bridge between brands and influencers. Here are the essentials that you need to get right from the start.
One, identity and positioning. You'll need a name for your business, but don't overthink it. When I started, I literally just used my gaming name, Solerson, because it sounded older and more professional, and people already knew that name. They helped me build credibility even as a teenager. A simple name and a clean logo, and you can make one for free with Hostinger, and you're ready.
Two, online presence. Instead of wasting months perfecting a website, start with a polished LinkedIn profile because this is where you're going to connect with potential clients. So, it needs to represent you well. If you do want a simple site, keep it clean. Just explain who you are and what you do and why brands should work with you. Think of it as your digital business card, nothing more.
Three, proof of concept, a portfolio. Now, proof of concept is where most beginners get stuck because most you won't have clients, but that's fine because you guys are just starting out. The solution is using mock campaigns. Create a simple influencer strategy for a hypothetical brand in your niche, what influencers you reach out to, what the campaign would look like, and how you attract results. This proves you understand how to run a campaign and provide value even before you've landed your first client.
Four, a simple process. Clients also want to know that you can handle campaigns smoothly. That doesn't mean that you need fancy software. Just a clear checklist that covers influencer outreach, communication, campaign management, and reporting. Mentioning this on a sales call shows that you're organized and professional, which builds trust and sets you apart, but for the most part, you won't need to do sales calls. Most of our deals happen over email, so you can make this clear in an email.
Five, pricing. When it comes to rates, start competitive. Don't undervalue yourself, but don't price too high that you scare off your first clients either. Undercut the average budget slightly, but focus on delivering results. And once you built case studies, you're going to have leverage to raise your prices over time. With these basics in place, you don't need an agency to start.
But how do you decide what specifically to charge a brand and whether the influencer's price is fair? Well, it's based on two things. Firstly, the influencers's average views and secondly, the CPM the brand is willing to pay. Essentially, how much a brand will pay every 1,000 views an influencer gets. To calculate this, you need to take the average views of the influencers's 10 most recent videos and then multiply the average by the CPM the brand is willing to pay to find out what you need to charge the brand. Because by doing this, you can figure out roughly what the influencer deserves to get paid based on the views that they will probably get and how much the brand will pay for every 1,000 views. But it's super annoying to go through and average all these numbers up and run the calculation, especially if you're running, say, 10 campaigns per month. But like with the rest of this business model, there are ways that you can leverage AI to automate this process and make it much quicker. Personally, I recommend using a tool like Hostinger Horizons. It can create a web app that can fully automate this annoying pricing process for you. The best part is you don't need any coding skills to set it up. And this has made my life in the business so much easier because instead of whipping out a calculator, I just tell Horizons two things. The average views and the CPM the brand wants to pay. From there, it can work out the price to charge them and what to pay the influencer. But let me show you how it works because it's super simple. All you need to do is head over to hostinger.com/suemean and tell it exactly what you want to build. What I'm going to do is give the tool a prompt, basically an instruction. I'm going to explain that I wanted to calculate the average views of an influencer from a set of numbers that I give it and then give me a final rate based on a CPM that I choose. From there, AI has literally just built me a web app that calculates the prices for me in minutes. And you can feed it more prompts to customize this web app as much as you want. For example, if an influencer gives me a price up front, I can just edit the web app with AI and ask it to make me a calculator that shows me the CPM to see if it matches up with the CPM the brand wants. And there are definitely more tweaks that you can make to this with simple prompts. But now that I'm happy with this, I can publish my web app with one click. Now, I have a fully working CPM and rate calculator for any influencer partnership that I want to work on. And I can't recommend Horizons enough for stuff like this. It's an all-in-one solution for web apps, websites, and emails, which are all the things that you need for your middleman business. It also has 24/7 support any issues that you run into, and it's totally risk-free with a 30-day money back guarantee. Also, what I'm showing you here is just an example of what Horizons can do for your business. But the tool is incredibly powerful and you can use it to build almost anything. It can be tailored to any project or task. So, make sure you test it out on other things. And because I'm partner with Hosting Horizons, you can get a free trial today. And if you use my code, SUI, you're going to get 10% off your first month.
And now, once you set up the basics, the next step is building your network of influencers. And this is where the middleman model really comes to life. Because the truth is, brands can only trust you if you can show you've got access to real creators. Your network is your leverage. So, how do you actually build it?
One, find the right creators. Start by finding the right creators. Start with the platforms where your niche is most active. If that's fitness or beauty, then look at Instagram and Tik Tok. If that's tech or gaming, go to Twitch and YouTube. Search hashtags. Explore recommended accounts and go into comment sections to find creators with active and engaged audiences.
Two, focus on engagement, not size. This is where most beginners mess up. They're just big follower accounts. And the funny thing is, 50,000 followers with real engagement is way more valuable than 500,000 followers that just don't care. What you're looking for is audience trust and influence. Creators whose followers actually comment, share, and listen to what they say.
Three, quality and authenticity. Remember, if you connect a brand with a sloppy creator, it reflects on you. So, look for influencers who post content that's relevant, professional, and consistent, and most importantly, authentic. Brands want creators their audience trusts, not just entertainers doing the occasional ad.
Four, avoid double middlemen. One thing to watch out for is influencers who are already represented. If their email ends in something like at media.com or looks like a talent agency, skip them. You don't want to be the middleman to another middleman. Go direct whenever possible.
Five, how to reach out. When it comes to reaching out, keep it simple and professional. A quick DM or email introducing yourself, explaining who you are and how you can bring them brand deals. But don't pitch them straight away. Their first goal is to open a dialogue and build trust. Replying to a story, sending a quick reaction, or commenting something genuine is an easy way to get noticed before you ever pitch. Once you're in the inbox, it's 10 times easier to build a relationship.
Six, play the numbers game. Now, here's the reality. Most won't reply. And that's fine, because volume solves everything. If you're not sending out dozens, even hundreds of DMs every week, you won't build a strong network. The more lines you cast, the more influencers you'll eventually bring into your circle. Once you've got a few influencers who trust you, you now have an asset that most beginners don't. A network that can be activated the second that you land a brand. And that's when the real money starts because now you've got both sides of the equation, brands and influencers, and you're the one connecting them.
Now that you've built your influencer network, it's time for the other side of the equation, brands. So, let's break down exactly how to find the right clients.
One, define your ideal client profile. Don't just pitch every brand you see. You want brands that actually fit your influencers. Your ICP is basically the sweet spot client for your network. For example, if your influencers are in beauty or fashion, your ICP might be midsize skincare or eco-friendly clothing brands. If you're in gaming, it might be tech startups or hardware companies. From there, check three things. Firstly, budget. Do they have the money to spend? Brands doing at least seven figures annually usually have dedicated marketing budgets. Secondly, their niche fit. Their audience must match your influencers's audience. A financial services brand won't care if your network isn't fitness. And finally, active marketing. They're already spending on ads or working with influencers. They're way more likely to say yes to you.
Two, build a lead list daily. LinkedIn is your best friend here. My business has brought in millions just from LinkedIn alone. Start by searching for companies in your niche and filter by size, industry, and activity. And if you have LinkedIn Sales Navigator, even better. It lets you get super specific. Set a goal of adding 20 to 30 companies to your list every single day because this compounds fast. In a month, you're going to have hundreds of potential clients to reach out to.
Three, find the decision makers. This is where most beginners fail. You pitch to the wrong people. Don't waste time with interns or assistants. You want the people who actually control the budgets. Look for titles such as head of influencer marketing, brand partnerships manager, influencer marketing manager, marketing director. These are the people who can say yes.
Four, outreach the middleman way. Send the connection request with a short friendly note. And once they accept it, don't pitch immediately. Stay on their radar. Let their posts, comments, reply with value. A week later, drop a personalized message that proves that you've done your research. For example, hi name. I've been following brand and love what you're doing in whatever specific area. I work with influencers in niche who drive strong engagement and I'd love to see if we can support you on your next campaign. Is it cool if I send over a few of our influencers? The key here is to keep it simple. Position yourself as the bridge. You bring the influencers and they bring the products.
Five, follow up relentlessly. Now, most deals won't close on the first message, and that's fine. Following up is where you make 90% of your money. Send a polite reminder a few days later and switch angles. One follow-up could highlight case studies and they can share campaign ideas. Keep it light and keep it professional. It's not a matter of if you'll get replies, it's just when. The middleman game is about consistency. 20 to 30 outreach messages every single day at a minimum. And once you've done all of these steps, it's just a matter of volume and consistency. And if you do this for 90 days, I'd be very surprised if you haven't closed at least one deal. And there's people who have taken this free advice, done the work, and closed deals. And that can be you, too.
So, if you want more information on how the middleman model works, click somewhere on screen now because it's a full free course breaking down exactly how to make your first $10,000 step by step with this model. But if you know you want to get started, then join my Telegram community in the description below. But make sure you hurry because I'm closing my middleman academy for good this time. And this is not just a scare tactic. I'm generally closing it for good. After September 30th, you're not going to be able to join the middleman academy ever again. And only the existing students are going to be the ones reaping rewards and making multiple six figures. So, make sure you click the telegram in the description below and get in touch with us today. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you.